Palau vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Palau is 23.6% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants
pay 59.8% more in Palau
Groceries
pay 14.0% more in Palau
Transportation
pay 1.8% less in Palau
Housing
pay 47.1% more in Palau
Childcare
pay 54.2% less in Palau
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.9% more in Palau
Clothing
pay 64.1% more in Palau

The cost of clothing, restaurants, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Palau are more expensive than in South Korea. Expenses including childcare and transportation are lower in Palau.

Palau vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Palau instead of South Korea, you would:

pay 59.8% more for restaurants

 
South Korea
Palau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $7.06
₩9,422
$13.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.17
₩8,230
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.53
₩2,039
$1.37
 

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pay 14.0% more for groceries

 
South Korea
Palau
Bread
1 loaf
$3.04
₩4,055
$3.44
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.12
₩8,174
$5.00
 
Milk (1 gallon) $8.23
₩10,982
$9.97
 

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pay 1.8% less for transportation

 
South Korea
Palau
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.01
₩6,685
$7.34
 
Monthly public transit pass $46.10
₩61,538
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,394.53
₩38M
$17,500.00
 

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pay 47.1% more for housing

 
South Korea
Palau
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$24.34
₩32,490
$199.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $561.73
₩750K
$725.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $387.83
₩518K
$525.00
 

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pay 54.2% less for childcare

 
South Korea
Palau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $545.93
₩729K
$250.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $20,214.53
₩27M
??

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pay 13.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
South Korea
Palau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.30
₩4,403
$1.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.66
₩4,888
$4.08
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.35
₩4,467
$15.00
 

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pay 64.1% more for clothing

 
South Korea
Palau
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$67.53
₩90,139
$85.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$53.43
₩71,316
$65.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$78.10
₩104K
$195.00
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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